‘Cats Corner is the official blog for the Tri-City ValleyCats, Short Season Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, and member of the historic New York-Penn League. 'Cats Corner consistently ranks as one of the top 50 professional blogs on the MLB.com network. With game and promotional recaps, team analysis and more, 'Cats Corner is ValleyCats fans #1 source for information.

‘Cats Street Team Updates

The ‘Cats Street Team has been out and about in the community all season. Let’s take a look at exactly where Southpaw and friends have been in the past few weeks.

Baseball game DevilCats vs Braves

SouthPaw and Amy stopped by the DevilCats vs Braves baseball game on the 4th of July to interact with the families and players in attendance and hand out pocket schedules.

4th of July at the Plaza

On Wednesday July 4th the Street Team spent most of their day at the Empire State Plaza 4th of July Celebration. They saw thousands of people visit their table, spin the prize wheel, and play with the small inflatable and cornhole set. There was also a raffle set up where the winner will receive four tickets to see the Houston Astros take on the NY Mets at Citi Field! Everyone was really excited to see the ValleyCats present at the celebration and, after learning about all of the great promotions happening at “The Joe” this season, look forward to coming out to take in a ballgame.

Summer Fest Party

On Saturday July 7th, SouthPaw and the Street Team visited the Summer Fest Party at the Albany Public Library Delaware Branch. The small inflatable and cornhole were set up as well as the prize wheel where hundred of children had their chance to win various ValleyCats prizes. SouthPaw event stopped by for about an hour to interact with the children.

North Creek Railroad

Starting pitchers Brady Rodgers, Joe Bircher, and Vince Velasquez as well as pitching coach Rick Aponte, SouthPaw, and ValleyCats staff spent a rare non-game day aboard the North Creek Railroad for a trip up north. The players signed autographs and posed for pictures on the train with people who made the trip just to meet them. After the two hour train ride they took a short bus trip to Gore Mountain where they played a few rounds of frisbee golf and then took a Gondala up the mountain where they were met with breathtaking views. After spending a good amount of time on the mountain, the group took the Gondala back down and went into town where the stopped for Oreo Milkshakes at a local restaurant and took in the sites of the very small town. Then it was back on board the train for the two hour ride back to Saratoga. The players had a great time and said it was the best way to spend an off day!

GE Kids Day at the Plaza

On Sunday July 8th the Street Team spent the hours leading up to the first Sunday baseball game this season at home for the ValleyCats at the Empire State Plaza for the annual GE Kids Day! The small inflatable and cornhole sets were set up and thousands of kid walked away with awesome ValleyCats prizes such as bobbleheads and team posters! They even met some fans that would be attending their first ValleyCats game that night so the Street Team signed them up to dance on the field for Dunkin Donuts Field Dancing at the end of the 7th inning. Everyone had a blast and hopefully we’ll see a lot of these same families in attendance on GE Kids in Free Night on July 21!

Greenwich Library Visit

On Wednesday July 11th SouthPaw and Amy visited children in the summer reading program at the Greenwich Library. For the first program, they listened to books about sleeping and then did a craft with the children. Then they headed outside and visited the older kids reading program where Amy handed out team posters, schedules, and SouthPaw activity books while SouthPaw signed dozens of autographs! Many of the children in attendance plan on visiting “The Joe” for a game this season.

Troy Pig Out

On Saturday July 14th and Sunday July 15th, ValleyCats staff attended the 5th annual Troy Pig Out where they set up the small inflatable, cornhole, and had giveaways that included 2012 team posters. They interacted with thousands of fans who were excited to learn about the upcoming games and the staff made sure they found time to walk around and sample all of the delicious food available!

Proctors Brewfest

On Saturday July 14th the Street Team attended the 2nd Annual Proctors Brewfest where they set up the prize wheel where hundred of people spun at the chance to win ValleyCats prizes such as bobbleheads, team cards, team posters, and yearbooks. They also marketed the Capital Region Brewfest happening at “The Joe” on Saturday July 28th and found that many people at Proctors looked forward to attending the one at the stadium. The ValleyCats table was next to one that had the regional manager of three local breweries raving about how “The Joe’s,” Brewfest was one of the best he has ever been to!

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